Family’s rezoning should have been allowed
I wish Mr. and Mrs. Lipps would have asked me to testify on their behalf in regards to their subdividing request.
As an owner of a real estate company I obviously know a little bit more about real estate than our County Council members, but I would at least expect them to do a little research to get familiar with the issues they are voting on. I hope Karen Eoff will someday learn the qualification for the loan by the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Lipps has nothing to do with the zoning-allowed agricultural dwelling on their property, and I also hope the opposing members of the Council will someday also learn that an agricultural dwelling is allowed to be built only for the housing of agricultural workers and not for family members, and it is approved by the Planning Department only if the property is used for agricultural activities.
I also would hope the opposing Council members would look at the tax map of the area to see the six 1-acre properties directly abutting the property of Mr. and Mrs. Lipps and their next door neighbor, not to mention that there already are 35 1- acre lots within two blocks of their property, so the denial based on not wanting deeper density is just an excuse. After all, if an additional building is already allowed there, the rezoning would not change the density.
So much for the “ohana” and supporting our families.
John Rabi
Kailua-Kona
Development may be causing flooding
Quite a front page on Thursday edition. Lots of flooding stories and comments like, “I’ve never seen it like this.” Some of us have seen it like this. Early 1980s, Alii Drive was flooded from the former King Kamehameha Hotel all the way to Kona Inn. Ocean View Restaurant had water up its first two steps, if you can remember the Ocean View.
The amount of new developments and subdivisions and large homes built above and on the side of Hualalai Mountain has created a lot of pavement running only one way, downhill. Our county is greedy for revenue, there’s a lot of people on the payroll, so they just OK and rezone wherever the monies coming from. Oh, you probably don’t know of these new areas because they put gates on them to keep out neighbors.
Joel Michaelson
Kailua-Kona